


Problem Solving

by LovelyLittleGrim



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awkward Derek, High School AU, Human AU, M/M, Misunderstandings, blow jobs mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 01:50:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15184106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/pseuds/LovelyLittleGrim
Summary: Derek doesn't always think about how the things he says might sound to other people. Awkwardness ensues.





	Problem Solving

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tabbytabbytabby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/gifts).



> For Tabs! Happy birthday you Queen! I hope it was an amazing one.

According to Cora and Laura Hale, Derek is a socially awkward turtle that should never be allowed out of the house. Derek’s never agreed with them before today. He wants to blame his awkwardness on genetics but literally, everyone in his family is ridiculously charming. Well, everyone except for him and Malia.

Cora likes to say he has a bad case of foot-in-mouth. After today, Derek is fully inclined to agree with her. It’s just, he doesn’t always think about how things sound to other people when he says them. Which is why his entire calculus class now thinks that Derek is revving to give Theo Raeken a blow job.

_He’s not._

However, Derek can see now how offering to help with Theo’s problem was so horrendously misconstrued. Especially, with how Derek went on about it being long and hard. Derek just wishes he had clued in on that before the snickering started around him and Stiles Stilinski blurted out, “Are you trying to blow Theo in the middle of calc?”

The quiet snickers had turned into full blown laughter after that outburst and Derek had fled the room without thinking.

Now, he’s currently hiding in the art kids’ lab, waiting for Malia to bring him the book bag he’d left in his haste to escape.. He’s decided to wait out the rest of the day in here and pray to every imaginable deity and god-like being he can think of to make this blow over as quickly as possible. He also really hopes he doesn’t end up with detention for supposedly sexually soliciting another student and then leaving class without permission. He doesn’t need his mother finding out or any other family member. God, he would never hear the end of it from Peter or his sisters.

His pocket vibrates and Derek hurries to pull his phone from it. He hopes it’s Malia saying she’s on her way with his things but it’s not. Instead, it’s a text from Cora typed out in all caps.

**Received 9:09** OMFG!! ARE YOU TRYING TO HOOK UP WITH THEO RAEKEN?!?

Derek groans and drops his head onto the desk, lifts it up once more and then drops it again. A dull ache forms between his brows but he thinks he deserves it.

How did Cora find out so quickly? Class just got released two minutes ago. He leaves his head on the wood, it feels nice and cool against his heated skin as he wonders just how many people his sister has working for her as spies. It’s probably everyone except for Derek himself.

His phone buzzes loudly on the desk again but he ignores it, knowing his luck it's from Laura who’s all the way across the country. Cora probably texted her before texting Derek. He hates having sisters, and he hates being a middle child and more than that—

“I hate high school,” he mutters into the wood of the desk, it sounds more like a pitiful whine than a statement.

“Doesn’t everyone?” A voice asks from behind him.

Derek startles upright, his head whipping around to stare at the doorway of the art room in horror. Theo Raeken is standing there in all his leather jacket wearing, smirky lips having, glory. Derek feels a little like running or dying, preferably right on the spot.

_Hello, spontaneous combustion,_ Derek thinks. _Please, happen now_.

Theo seems entirely unaware of Derek’s suddenly very morbid thoughts as he strolls further into the room and closes the door gently behind him. He leans against it, effectively cutting off Derek’s sole means of escape. Well, there’s always the windows but they are on the third floor and that seems a tad excessive.

“I mean, it’s pretty standard, isn’t it?” Theo continues to say, his shoulders giving a small shrug. “Almost like a rite of passage for teenagers.”

“I guess,” Derek says trying to act as nonchalant and unaffected as Theo seems to be. He doubts he pulls it off half as well.

A thousand thoughts run through Derek’s head most of them consist of him escaping somehow but the others are more practical and curious about Theo. He’s burning to know what the other guy is doing here when Derek knows that he has class on the other side of the building in less than six minutes because Malia has the same class next period as Theo.

“What are you doing in here?” Derek blurts out before he can stop himself.

“I thought you would be in here,” Theo tells him and pushes off the door to join Derek on the other side of the room. He drops down in the desk right in front of Derek and smiles. “This is where you usually hide away with Tate, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Derek says slowly, surprised that Theo knows that. People usually don’t pay much attention to him or Malia. He’s too awkward and Malia frightens people. It works out well for them though because neither are very fond of attention.

Theo hums and looks around, his green eyes taking in his surroundings with a curious gleam. “I’ve never been in here before, it’s nice, quiet.”

Derek follows Theo’s gaze around the empty room, taking in the shelves of paint and sketch pads, the soft light from the sun that filters in through the windows. It’s a nice room, sequestered away from the loud brashness of high school and its inhabitants.

Theo glances over at him and then looks away. “Not many people come in here, do they?”

“Not usually,” Derek says and then flushes bright red when he realizes that they are in fact alone in this room, the door closed and the windows too high for anyone to see inside. He jerks his gaze back to Theo and stammers out, loud and fast. “I’m not going to blow you in here— or, or at all!”

Theo’s head twists back around to him so quick that Derek actually hears a crack. Theo winces, his face flushing a bright red as well. “What—no—that’s not why I’m in here.”

They stare at each other with wide eyes and too loud breathes, both of them looking awkward and embarrassed. “It’s not?”

“No, I promise,” Theo tells him earnestly, expression practically pleading for Derek to believe him.

“Then what are you doing in here?” Derek asks defensively his arms crossing over his chest as he narrows his eyes at Theo.

“I, I just wanted to let you know that I understood what you meant in class earlier,” Theo says quietly as he rubs at his neck, his eyes cast down at the desk. “I know you weren’t offering to give me a blowjob or whatever Stilinski and everyone else thought.”

He glances up at Derek and offers him a small smile. “I know you’re just really passionate about numbers and you wanted to help.”

Derek blinks in surprise, the tension easing from his body. He had assumed that Theo thought the same thing as everyone else.  “You do?”

Theo bobs his head a few times. “Yeah, I mean, you have the second highest scores in our grade and you’re always so enthusiastic during lessons, it’s— uh,”  Theo cuts himself off and clears his throat awkwardly. “I just know you like math, is all.”

A heavy silence ensues. Derek isn’t sure what to say after that.

_Thank you?_

Or maybe, _Sorry I thought you wanted me to blow you in the art room?_

He cringes at himself. God, he’s so awkward. “That’s, uh, good,” he says haltingly. “That you know I mean, that uh..”

He trails off. Yeah, he should have just stayed silent.

The door behind him opens, much louder this time than when Theo had slipped in. He turns and sees Malia standing in the doorway, like his knight in shinning combat boots. She takes in the scene before her and narrows her eyes dangerously at Theo. The bags she’s holding in her hands drop to the floor with a loud, simultaneous thump. She steps forward, body language full of fight. “Is he bothering you, Derek?”

Derek shakes his head and hurries to tell her that he’s not. “No, he’s—we were just talking. It’s fine Malia.”

Malia pauses mid-step. She doesn’t look convinced, but she also doesn’t move to rip Theo’s eyes from his head either, so, that’s good. She glances back and forth between him and Theo, her eyes eventually settling on him.

“Alright,” she says and nods at him, her short hair falling into her face. She moves back and picks up her bag, leaving Derek’s on the floor by the door. She hooks it over her shoulder and tells him, “I’ve got English to get to, I’ll fail if I miss another class. Homework is page 42, all the odd problems.”

“Thanks, Mal,” he says gratefully.

She bobs her head once, turns to leave then pauses momentarily to throw over her shoulder. “Text me if there’s a body you need to get rid of Derek.”

And then she’s gone, the door swinging shut after her.

Derek really doesn’t need manslaughter on his list of horrible things that have happened today so far, but he appreciates the sentiment.

“Well, that was terrifying,” Theo says breaking the silence that Malia’s exit has left behind.

Derek turns back to him. “Sorry about her, she’s just… protective.”

“It’s fine, I get it,” Theo shakes his head, brushing the ordeal off. “You and her, you’re…” He waves his hand through the air in a vague sort of gesture. “Together.”

Derek lets out an incredulous laugh his nose wrinkling in disgust at the notion.  What? We’re not together.”

Theo looks surprised. “I thought—it’s just, you and her go everywhere together and you seem close.”

“So, you thought we were dating?” Derek continues to laugh. He shakes his head. “No, no, we’re _cousins_ and best friends.”

“Oh,” Theo says and ducks his head down, his cheeks going dark with embarrassment as his hair falls into his eyes. “Well, this is awkward.”

Derek grins at him good-naturedly. “Can’t be more awkward than people assuming you’re trying to blow someone in the middle of class.”

Theo looks up at him through his lashes and laughs quietly. “No, that is pretty embarrassing.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty top notch as far as embarrassing goes,” Derek says. “So, you’re fine.”

They share a few more quiet laughs and smiles, before falling into a comfortable silence. The final bell rings out in the hallway beyond the door signaling that class is about to start and if you’re not already in the room then you’re late.

“Shouldn’t you get to class?” Derek asks nodding his head at the door. “You’ll get a note of absence if you’re not there.”

“So, will you,” Theo teases as he leans back in his chair. “I can afford to miss some class, I haven’t skipped a day at all this semester. Besides, I like it here.”

He pauses, his body tending up as he says. “Unless you want me to leave you alone, then I can go?”

The question catches Derek off guard, his mouth opening but no sound coming out. Theo stands up and moves to leave but Derek shakes his head and reaches out to catch his wrist. It’s warm beneath his fingers, the skin soft. “No, you’re fine, you can stay.”

“You’re sure?” Theo asks, looking oddly nervous as he stands next to Derek’s desk. He’s not looking at Derek though, his eyes seeming to be riveted to Derek’s hand.

Derek can feel the quickened thrum of Theo’s pulse where his fingers are holding on. He jerks his hand away and gestures at Theo’s seat. “Sorry. Yeah, sit.”

Theo sits slowly, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Derek jerks his gaze away and tamps down on the arousal that blooms low in his stomach. Theo’s really attractive, like unfairly so. It’s part of why Derek was so embarrassed people thought he was trying to blow him. Derek knows that he’s not bad looking himself, but he’s got gawky glasses and his social skills are abysmal. He’s practically at the bottom of the high school totem pole whereas Theo’s right there at the tip top with Lydia Martin and Jordan Parrish.

Cora tells him he’s a Hale anomaly, especially seeing as how she’s still just a freshman and yet she’s already being groomed to take over the school after Lydia graduates this year. Hale’s are always popular unless of course, they are Derek.

Derek licks his lips nervously; the room is quiet but it’s not comfortable like it had been moments before. He should have just let Theo go. Now they’re going to have to make conversation and Derek’s going to say something awkward and ruin it all. The only upside is that Theo is surprisingly nice.

“So,” Theo says slowly, his fingers drawing patterns onto Derek’s desk.

He has nice fingers too, Derek notes as he watches the graceful glide of them. Derek wants to reach out and touch them with his own, but that would be weird and he’s trying to keep the weird to a minimum.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Theo asks, his fingers pausing on the desk as though they’re waiting for Derek to answer.

The question comes from left field, at least, it seems that way to Derek. He doesn’t really know much about small talk so it could be regular protocol. He hesitates for a moment, wondering if he should just shrug off the question or say no.

“I don’t like girls,” Derek says honestly. He’s never been shy about his sexuality but he’s also never had to admit it out loud within the confines of high school.

“Oh,” Theo says and then his fingers move again, drawing those same slow patterns into the wood. “Do you have a boyfriend then?”

Derek shakes his head. “No, I’m not seeing anyone.”

Theo’s eyes flicker up to meet his, there’s a glimmer of surprise and something that looks like hope in them. “Really?”

Derek looks away, emotions caught somewhere between embarrassment and frustration.

“I’ve never dated anyone, shocking isn’t it?” He mumbles sarcastically and adjusts his glasses for something to do with his hands, he hopes his face isn’t as red as it feels.

“It is shocking,” Theo states, his fingers tap at the desk twice and then he adds. “You’re cute, Derek.”

“I… What,” Derek chokes, turning back to Theo with wide eyes.

He had to have misheard, or maybe just fell asleep, while sitting up and… fully awake.

“I think you’re cute,” Theo repeats his eyes meeting Derek’s head on. “Especially, when you’re in class.”

Derek’s mouth pops open in surprise, his face burning at the compliment. He wants to look away but he feels trapped by the swirl of blue-green.

“Why especially in class?” he hears himself ask.

“Because, the harder the problems are the more excited you look and it’s really fucking adorable, you know,” Theo sighs, running a hand through his hair. “It’s unfair sometimes because you bite down on the tip of your pencil while you think and then you fucking smile when you’ve finally figured it out and it’s just… too much.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re why I’m doing so terrible in that class,” Theo teases. “I never had trouble with math before this year when you took the seat next to mine. You’re distracting.”

“Sorry,” Derek whispers for lack of anything else to say. His heart is beating ridiculously fast, he feels like he can’t think straight, and it only gets worse the more Theo talks. He feels his glasses slide down the bridge of his nose but he makes no move to fix them. He’s too stunned.

Theo shakes his head and reaches out across the desk to push Derek’s glasses back up the bridge of his nose. His hand stays there for a moment, warm and soft against the high of Derek’s cheek. Then Theo is pulling away and dropping his hand back onto the desk.

“It’s not your fault, Derek,” Theo tells him with a lopsided smile. “ It’s mine. I just can’t seem to not look at you.” 

Derek’s never been bullied before, mostly thanks to his last name and how influential his family is, but also mostly because Malia would stab a bitch before they even thought about hurting Derek. He doesn’t think this is a joke, but there’s still that niggle of doubt at the back of his mind that prompts him to ask. “Are you fucking with me?”                                                                                            

Theo looks surprised, his hands flying out to wave them through the air as though he can ward off Derek’s words.

“No, fuck, no, I wouldn’t do that,” Theo tells him. “I’m being completely serious about this. You can ask Corey, I talk about you all the time to him. I’m pretty sure he’s at the end of his rope with how much I’ve mentioned you and my pathetic crush.”

He gives an awkward laugh. “I thought you were with Malia, so I never said anything to you about it.”

“I thought you didn’t like me at all,” Derek admits. “You always asked if you could work alone when we got paired up in class.”

“Yeah,” Theo says his voice apologetic. “Sorry, about that. I was worried I would say something to make you uncomfortable.”

Theo bites down on his bottom lip again and shifts nervously in the seat, waiting for Derek to say something. Derek doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t exactly know Theo or anything about him other than he’s hot and apparently has a crush on Derek for some inexplicable reason.

Derek decides he should probably stop making Theo do all the talking and says, “Are you busy after school?”

“Not even a little,” Theo tells him and then winces. “That’s a lie, I have chem club after school, but it’s only for a little bit, I’m free after that if you don't mind waiting?"

_Theo Raeken is in a chemistry club._

Derek kind of wants to laugh at that. Not because he thinks Theo is stupid or because he thinks pretty people aren't clever. It's because the thought of Theo with goggles on and his eyes intently focused on some complex chemicals is oddly cute. Derek wants to be able to see it in person. 

“After Chem club the," Derek says. "Would you want to get some food with me?"

“Like a date?” Theo asks slowly, hope clear in his tone.

“More like a pre-date date,” Derek says. He wants to get to know more about Theo. He wants to hear about chemistry club and what Theo does in his spare time.

Theo nods his head, expression thoughtful. “Okay, sounds good to me.” He smiles at Derek and it’s almost bashful, the sight of it makes Derek’s heart trip over itself as Theo pushes himself up to his feet.

“Lunch will be starting soon and I’m sure Corey is dying to know what’s happening,” Theo says holding up his cell phone and rocking on his heels. “He’s been texting me none stop since second period ended.”

“Yeah,” Derek says and points at his own phone still sitting on the edge of the desk where he left it. “Cora’s been texting me too.”  

Theo stares at it curiously for a moment before asking. “Do you mind if I give you my number to text you?"

Derek shakes his head and unlocks the phone for him. Theo picks it up and types away on it for a moment, there's a buzz from Theo's own pocket and then Theo is locking Derek's phone and sliding it back across the desk. He bites down on his lip, but the smile still makes its around it, breathtaking and genuine. 

"I'll text you later," he tells Derek as he walks backward towards the door, he stumbles over Derek's bag and curses as he straightens up, face flushed. "Uh, see you." 

He gives Derek an adorable little wave before slipping out into the hallway. Derek stares at the door for a long time after Theo has left, his heart still beating too quickly and a smile that won't go away spread on his face. He still doesn't quite believe that just happened. His phone buzzes on the desk, loud and annoying, dragging him from his thoughts. He sighs as he reaches for it. He should probably respond to Cora now before she has a conniption. He unlocks his phone and pulls up his text messages. The newest one is from an unknown number, the message itself just says Theo's name. Derek smiles at it stupidly before saving it to his contacts Then he pulls up his text history with Cora. He blinks in surprise though when he sees a response from himself already sent to her. He laughs even as he blushes, happiness blooming in his chest. 

 

**Received 9:09** ARE YOU TRYING TO HOOK UP WITH THEO RAEKEN?!?!?!

**Received 9:10** DEREK

**Received 9:10** dereK HALE

**Received 9:22** YOURE MISSING AND SO IS THEO!

**Sent 9:52** Not trying. Succeeding.


End file.
